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By Syahirah Anwar
It was the first luxury car-spotting outing for the three car-loving teenagers on Orchard Road in February.
Scanning the road for one they could take a picture of, they stopped in their tracks when a gleaming Ferrari 599GTO glided silently to a stop at a traffic light.
Ecstatic at seeing the red-hot Italian beauty, they started snapping away with their cameras.
Little did they know that the same Ferrari would be smashed beyond repair less than three months later, when it would slam into a Comfort Cab at the junction of Victoria Street and Rochor Road on May 12, killing three people, including its driver.
It was a big shock to student Aiden Chong, 14, and his two schoolmates, who had taken the pictures of the car outside Forum Shopping Mall on Feb 24.
Yesterday, in the Coroner’s Court, it was heard that Chinese national, Mr Ma Chi, had owned the car for almost a year before the horrific accident.
Mr Ma was killed in the accident, as was the taxi driver, Mr Cheng Teck Hock, 52, and his Japanese passenger, Ms Ito Shigemi, 41.
The court heard that Mr Ma had a penchant for fast cars.
He also owned a BMWM3 sports car.
His family’s lawyer, Mr Wendell Wong, from Drew and Napier, told the court that Mr Ma had owned an Infiniti sports car in China at the time of the accident.
Mr Ma, who was a financial investor, was said to have left behind an estate close to $8.1 million, which will be split between his wife Madam He Ting Ting and their two children.
The Ferrari that he was driving had cost $1.8 million.
State Coroner Imran Abdul Hamid gave his findings as to how the accident had happened.
Mr Imran said that “Mr Ma had created circumstance” for himself by driving at such high speeds.
He said: “A driver, travelling at speeds of more than twice the legal limit to almost three times the legal limit, would have placed himself in a situation which made it extremely difficult for him to react appropriately to the evolving road conditions.”
 
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